The present disclosure relates generally to information handling systems, and more particularly to connector couplings on an information handling system.
As the value and use of information continues to increase, individuals and businesses seek additional ways to process and store information. One option is an information handling system (IHS). An IHS generally processes, compiles, stores, and/or communicates information or data for business, personal, or other purposes. Because technology and information handling needs and requirements may vary between different applications, IHSs may also vary regarding what information is handled, how the information is handled, how much information is processed, stored, or communicated, and how quickly and efficiently the information may be processed, stored, or communicated. The variations in IHSs allow for IHSs to be general or configured for a specific user or specific use such as financial transaction processing, airline reservations, enterprise data storage, or global communications. In addition, IHSs may include a variety of hardware and software components that may be configured to process, store, and communicate information and may include one or more computer systems, data storage systems, and networking systems.
As the trend towards smaller and lighter IHSs continues, less and less space is available on the IHS chassis for connector couplings with which to couple the IHS to other devices. For example, some portable IHSs include a display moveably coupled to a base such that a backside of the base is not available for connector couplings due to the display moving adjacent the backside of the base when the portable IHS is opened. With such IHSs, this leaves only the sides of the base for connector couplings, as any cables extending from connector couplings on the front side of the base would interfere with the user of the IHS. Furthermore, drives such as, for example, optical drives, hard disk drives, and the like, typically occupy almost 70% of the space on one side of the base, further reducing the space available for connector couplings. Due to the need to include both new generation connector couplings and previous generation connector couplings in order to allow IHS users as many coupling options as possible, this reduced amount of connector coupling space on the base of the IHS requires the IHS manufacturer to make undesirable decisions about which connector couplings to include on the IHS.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide a portable IHS with connector couplings absent the disadvantages discussed above.